Today, I'm working with a colleague at the University of Missouri to submit a proposal to an innovative National Science Foundation program, called Partnerships in International Research and Education (PIRE). In its current Program Solicitation, the introduction makes a powerful assessment about the importance of learning across borders.
Scientific and engineering discovery and learning are worldwide phenomena. Increasingly, centers of research excellence are emerging across the globe and new ideas and research are resulting from the intellectual interactions of people with diverse backgrounds. Consequently, U.S. scientists and engineers must be globally engaged and able to operate effectively in teams and networks comprised of partners from different nations and cultural backgrounds. International partnerships are, and will be, increasingly indispensable in addressing many critical science and engineering problems.
This is true in science, engineering, arts, humanities, business, law, the health professions...
If you wonder why international programs are important for universities, I encourage you to investigate the objectives and the results of the PIRE program.
